About House of Light

A snapshot of our history

History
Our mission and values

House of Light is a perinatal mental health charity offering support and counselling to parents before and after birth. Founded in 2007 and driven forward by women of lived experience of perinatal illness, we are just as passionate about helping people and raising awareness today, as we were the day we started.

We offer group peer support and one to one counselling to help you recover from the symptoms associated with perinatal mental health issues such as antenatal or postnatal depression and anxiety and birth trauma. For a full list of what we can help with please click on the link.

House of Light was one of the first support services dedicated to postnatal depression in our area. We received calls for support from across the United Kingdom and indeed from other countries.

A national freephone helpline and a local peer support group were set up and available to mums struggling with postnatal depression. Over the years House of Light has evolved and developed to meet the demand of our local community.

2009
2009
In 2009, House of Light were supported by Hull Clinical Commissioning Group to expand its service delivery and named Charity of the Year by the Smile Foundation. The need for our service had been acknowledged and we were ploughing forward providing the best possible care to new mums. Our peer support group was very well attended, and we loved watching new friendships and bonds form between our mums, we also delivered one to one support for those people who found attending a group too difficult.
2012
2012
In 2012 we recognised that it was not just in the postnatal period mums were struggling and it was not just mum who needed our help. Dads needed our support too! We expanded our workforce and began offering support both antenatally and postnatally to mum and dad. We also employed qualified counsellors to help those who needed more than support to work through and process their thoughts and feelings.
2014
2014
In 2014 mental health service delivery changed dramatically. Hull Clinical Commissioning Group made strategic changes that would improve access to mental health services for everyone. Counselling had historically been something very few could afford, now anyone would be able to access it for free.

City Healthcare Partnership Hull became the lead provider for the Let’s Talk counselling service and House of Light was one of the original sub-providers. Now any new mum with a Hull GP could access counselling from our specialist service via Let’s Talk.
2017
2017
In 2017 House of Light began working with Humber Teaching NHS Foundation Trust delivering counselling for perinatal patients in the East Riding of Yorkshire as part of their Emotional Wellbeing service.

We continue to this day to deliver talking therapies for both the Emotional Wellbeing Service and the Let’s Talk Service.

Our expanding service delivery and demand from the residents of Hull and East Riding meant that a move to larger premises was needed.
2018
2018
In 2018 House of Light moved from its original home at Linnaeus Street to bigger offices in Hull City Centre, which is where we are today. Our premises meet the accessibility standards, and we try to ensure that everyone can access our services no matter what their individual requirements are.
2019
2019
In 2019 we rolled out our perinatal awareness training. This would support others to understand the unique requirements of individuals experiencing perinatal illness. We continue to deliver our training to health professionals and other professionals interested in perinatal mental health and wellbeing.
2020
2020
In March 2020 as the world came to a standstill, we moved to remote working due to the COVID-19 pandemic. House of Light continued successfully to offer counselling and support during this time over the telephone, online and via email and our support group moved to Zoom.
2021
2021
Now it is 2021 and the world though different seems to be returning to normality (whatever that is). We are back in the office offering therapy face to face, online and via the telephone. Our support groups are planning a move to face to face, and we are now offering more choice than ever before on ways in which you can access our service.

There are so many employees, volunteers, trustees, services, and grant providers that have made House of Light what it is today. House of Light has helped many thousands of people over the years. Today our team at House of Light continue to strive to deliver the best possible, most welcoming service we can with the patient at the centre of everything.

Speak over the phone

Our helpline is open Monday to Friday 9am until 5pm.

Call 01482 580499
Freephone 0800 043 2031

If you’d like to email

[email protected]
Online enquiry form

Support Group

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FAQs

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Support & Information

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